Thursday, September 25, 2008

This is the time of the year when most of the Hindu festivals are being celebrated all at once. Dussehra, Navratri, Diwali, Durga Puja, Bhai Duj etc. Here are some links to download Hindu devotional songs, Aartis, Bhajans for all occasions Free. You can get MP3 Audio, Videos, CDs etc..

Friday, September 19, 2008

Truth is a small word but how many of us really "value" it in today's world? When I was a kid, we were taught that it was not okay to tell lies or deceive people. The value of telling the truth was drilled into us in most of our lessons, be it about Mahatma Gandhi or reading various story books that had the same moral in it in many different ways. The Enid Blyton books were filled with such stories, and she was one of my favorite authors at that time and age. I still love reading them.

The effect of all this education has made an honest person out of me. Too Honest! I found that I just couldn't tell a lie without being caught, as guilt would be clearly written all over my face. But, as the growing up process teaches us lots of things in life, I soon learned or should I say "Unlearned" that it was "okay" to tell lies, at times. In fact, it becomes almost necessary to lie or deceive sometimes as certain situations demand it of us.

One needs to only look and observe the people and society, including the world at large to realize that "truth" seems to have become an outdated term. If you look carefully at your own family, you will soon realize that there are so many things that are just superficial or "not exactly the truth". The world survives on lies and deception. Marketing any product is done through a series of lies that are essential in order to sell the product to people. False promises by politicians has become the need of the hour to gain votes. The newspapers are filled with only half-truths. They will let you know only what they THINK, you should know.

With the advent of the computer age, it has now become mandatory to lie. Most people register online in various websites with false identities. We are being pushed towards telling lies. Nobody knows the truth anymore. Does the truth even exist in today's world?

Seeing all the changes that are happening all around the world and with technology that is pushing humans further away from "reality", it is only natural that we will soon be living in a world of delusions or deceptions and soon a day may come, I fear, when we may not be able to distinguish between "Reality" and "Deception". In fact, "Deception" will become the "Reality" of tomorrow.

India is celebrating the Hindu festival Janmashtami today (24th August '08). This is the day that Lord Krishna was born and is marked as one of the important festivals of India. Lord Krishna was born as the 8th child and was adopted by Yashoda and Nandrai so that he could escape the wrath of King Kansa who was after his blood.

The day is celebrated all over India with the famous Dahi Handi ceremony in which a human pyramid is formed in order to break the pot that contains Dahi (Butter Curd). According to the Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna was very fond of milk and milk products, especially the butter that used to be churned by his mother, and he would do anything to steal the pot that his mother would take great pains to hide from him. She would try and tie the pot as high as possible so that he would not be able to reach it. But, clever kid that he was, he would collect all the kids from the neighborhood and form a human pyramid and climb on top of them all to reach he pot, break it and eat the butter, much to the amazement of his mother.

Following this tradition, the breaking of the Dahi Handi is considered very auspicious even today. Places like Maharashtra and Pune specifically are well known for the exact performance of traditional Dahi Handi ceremony.

The Celebrations

Dahi Handi is generally celebrated on the second day of Janmashtami, in which an earthen pot containing a mixture of milk, dry fruits, ghee is hung around 20-30 feet high in the air with the help of a rope.

At times even money is put in the pot or on the rope,which is later distributed as prize to the winners. Young devotees of Lord Krishna called "Govinda" come in groups and try to break the "Dahi Handi" by making human pyramids by standing one on top of the other, trying to break the pot.

The onlookers make it more interesting and difficult by throwing water on the young men in order to prevent them from breaking the pot. Breaking of the pot is followed by prize distribution. Devotees believe that the broken pieces of earthen pot will keep away mice and negative powers from their homes.

In the city of Mumbai the slogans of "Govinda Ala Re" are heard reverberating the streets all over where there is a Dahi Handi. It is an event worth seeing.

Courage is a deeply loyal but incredibly timid dog who would go to any lengths to save or defend his owners Eustace and Muriel from the paranormal elements that threaten their normal daily existence.

Courage is extremely "fearful" of all these unusual visitors that keep cropping up at their home uninvited, and if given a chance, he would just rather run away or hide from them. That's the reason why he is called "cowardly". And yet, in spite of his extreme fear, he is ready to fight for his dear life just to save his Muriel from danger. He manages to find "courage" in himself to do so. That is the most endearing part that I love about this character.

Courage is an abandoned dog, adopted by Muriel who lives in the middle of Nowhere, with her husband Eustace Bagge. Eustace is a farmer who just likes to sit and watch his old black and white television and scare Courage with his "Scary Mask". Thus, we can understand why Courage loves Muriel and would do anything to save her.

I can identify myself with "Courage the Cowardly Dog" in so many ways. I have a great fear of the unknown and don't like to be faced with uncertainties in life.I know that I am "Cowardly", that is, if given a choice, I would rather run away or escape from the situation or hide under the bed and hope that the threat would just disappear on its own. But, when I have no other choice, I would grit my teeth and face the adversities and do my best to come out of it in one piece.

I have a dream...I wish I was a "Superwoman". No, I don't mean the kind like "Batman, Catwoman, Wonderwoman" etc. Just plain "Superwoman". She would be a WOMAN personified, but with SUPER powers that would make her strong, physically and mentally. She would have lots of patience, love, understanding, compassion, and most of all, a strong head on her shoulders. Something like this:Now, I know you are wondering, what would I do with all that strength. Well, it's simple enough really. I could finish all the physical tasks that are to be done around the house, like getting my kid ready for school, preparing meals, doing the laundry, cleaning the house and doing the dishes etc all in a jiffy and you know what, the best part of it all would be that I wouldn't "feel" tired one bit. See, that's what I would like most of all. So, I would still be fresh as a daisy when my kid comes back from school, and I would be in a very "good" mood to welcome him home and deal with all his further demands as well as I could. I could smile the whole day and not look like as if a storm had hit the house by the time my husband gets home.

Imagine what fun it would be if I could indulge my son in physical sports like football, cricket, swimming, basketball, you name it. And I still wouldn't feel tired. What a cool MOM I would be then. I would have all the patience to entertain his friends without getting irritated and actually enjoy their company too.

I would then be able to deal with my husband's demands as well with equal zest and maybe enthusiasm at the end of the day! (Wink, wink)Hmm, Now, hey, who wouldn't want that!

But, at the end of the day, you see, since I am now so strong and have superpowers, I would obviously not be satisfied with just taking care of my own household and its members needs, I would like to do more. So, what better way than to get out in the world and spread a little cheer and warmth.

First of all, I being a mother, would obviously have the nurturing feelings also personified and so I would go out to seek those children who are miserable, unhappy, and unloved and give them all lots of love and hugs. I would try to spread some happiness, warmth and love in the bosom of all those children so that they would feel "wanted". I would build a shelter for all those children who are out in the streets and give them food and take care of them.

I would like to say that I would also like to wipe out all the "dirty scoundrels" and scum from the surface of the earth, but, guess what, I'll leave that task to the likes of "Batman, Superman, Spiderman" etc..

Well, now that I've tucked "all" my children into bed safely, guess it's time to say "Goodnight"! It's been a long day.

I am Ms Wordsmith. I have been gifted with superhuman powers the day I learned to “write”. Just that I did not realize the same. It still helped. I filled the application form that got me a college degree, a job, and got my son into a school for his education. It is this “writing” that has got me an education and a position in society that I have today. I am what I am because I can write.

Everybody is aware of the “Power” of the “Written Word”. The pen is mightier than the sword, it is said. There is a lot that can be done just by writing. I need not don a cape or a Bat suit and learn to fly the skies. I can do my bit, and some more by just writing. A word here, and a word there is all that is required to do the needful.

I can do a lot with my writing. I can help people to relieve their pain and suffering. I can write stories to entertain; I can educate people with the knowledge that I have acquired. I can write and move mountains. I can bring a change or cause change if I want to.

I can write tender and touching verses, or love letters to woo a mate. I can write letters to my relatives, notes to friends and maintain a personal Diary. I can force people to think by creative writing. I can bring a smile, to the faces of the people who matter and also to those who don’t matter, by my written words. I can move people to tears with my writing and also make them laugh. I can hurt people by writing spiteful things or bring them down by exposing their misdeeds.

I can make people work; I can fly planes or land on the moon, make or break politicians and the government. I can send criminals to prison or give them a death sentence by a written word. It takes just a written word to make a country go to war, or not. It also takes a written word to bring peace and harmony back into the country. It is the written word that can control the economic situation for yourself or your country.

I can make money come to me with my writing or I can also make money come to me by applying for a job. I can be totally free to choose what I want just because I learned to “write”.

The scientists from all over the world have got together for the World's biggest scientific experiment to recreate the "Big Bang" in the hope that it will unlock the secrets of the Universe.

The experiment has begun today (10th September'08) and in a few hours man would probably know some answers that we have been seeking so far. The experiment has cost many billion dollars and is called "Alice in Wonderland". Well, let's just hope that this will not lead to a "doomsday" or the end of the earth?

So, what is this experiment going to do? Well, there is a Large Hadron Collider in which two beams will be travelling in opposite directions, and when these two beams collide scientists hope to discover new particles. This multimillion dollar machine is located at Cern, the European Organization for Nuclear Research and will fire the first beams of proton around the 17-mile tunnel to test the controlling strength of the world's largest superconducting magnets.

It may still take about a month for the two beams to come together in a collision that, according to the fear of some skeptics, could create micro "black holes" and endanger the planet.

The experiment has been started today and the first beam to simulate Big Bang on Earth has been fired at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

There are about 80 nationalities involved in this experiment and India is one of the interested parties. US and Japan are the major contributors with the observer status being in Cern.

The verbal spat between Jaya Bachchan and Raj Thackeray has been in the news recently. Raj Thackeray is the nephew of the Shiv Sena Leader, Bal Thackeray and has become the chief of a party called the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Raj Thackeray seems to be following his own political agenda in order to gain cheap publicity and votes from the local people by resorting to "Hitler" type dictats in the state.

He started the attack on the Bachchan clan when Amitabh Bachchan and his family members inaugurated a girl's school in the name of Aishwarya Rai in a village in UP (Uttar Pradesh), which happens to be their home town. Raj made some comments against this openly in a press conference, stating that Amitabh owes a lot to the land of Maharashtra, where he became an actor, and gained popularity. He also said that they had done nothing to pay back the soil of Maharashtra so far, instead, Amitabh has become an ambassador for the state of UP. Jaya Bachchan could not take any comments on her family lying down, so she retorted back in another press conference saying that if Raj would give them a piece of land in Maharashtra, they would be more than willing to open another girl's school in the name of Aishwarya, there too.

This happened sometime in January, this year. Since then, the attacks have become more and more vicious. Raj Thackeray started a campaign against all "North Indians" in the state and there were some violent incidents also reported. He then tried to implement "compulsary" Marathi Language course in all the schools in the state. He has also made all the shopkeepers in the state to have their signboards converted to Marathi.

Recently, at the music release function of her son, Abhishek Bachchan's film "Drona", Jaya Bachchan made a comment saying that she would speak in "Hindi" as she is from UP and that all the people from Maharashtra should please excuse her. This statement did not go down well with Raj Thackeray, and he promptly called a press conference and demanded that Jaya Bachchan owed an apology to the whole state of Maharashtra and the Marathi people. In his statement he called Jaya an "old woman" "Buddhi" and also said that she had no "brains".

Apparently, Jaya Bachchan has rendered an apology in response to this and said that she was misunderstood.

How long will this verbal sparring continue between these two families? Raj Thackeray is behaving like a "dictator" and taking law into his own hands, by his actions. Will this be tolerated by the people and the police? Why don't they arrest him? He had gone so far as to publicly claim that he would not allow any of the "Bachchan's" Movies to be released anywhere in Maharashtra. The buck did not stop there, he also sent his goons all over the city to tear up any film posters or even any Advertising posters that had any of the Bachchans on it.

Apparently, the Mumbai police has not taken kindly to this action and has said that they would keep a lookout for such incidences and if they caught any of the culprits red-handed, they would be dealt with very strictly as per the law. Easier said than done. We are still waiting to see some positive action by the law to curb Raj Thackeray and his ways.

This comes as a complete surprise to all the Indians who were never aware of this fact. India has won not one but "Two" Gold medals in the Beijing Olympics 2008 Games. The person who managed to achieve this is Sunita Lamba, the sister of the late cricketer, Raman Lamba.

She is a fine arts artist from the capital Delhi, who sent her sculpture, called "Spirit of Unity" for the Olympics fine arts 2008 exhibition, put up by the organization committee at Beijing. Her sculpture was selected for the display and she was awarded a Gold medal for the same. She was declared as the "best artist" at the exhibition.

"To find a place in the Olympics Fine Arts was a cut throat competition, where 10,000 artists from 80 countries participated. But the paintings and sculptures of only 110 artists were selected for exhibition in the gallery of Olympics Fine Arts 2008," Sunita said, in an exclusive interview with Headlines India.

She has received a certificate of the Gold medal from the Beijing authorities and along with that she has also been given an Olympic torch.

The art exhibition will run for a few months in different parts of China and also move to countries across the world. This is truly a "very" proud moment for India and Sunita Lamba.

Now, Abhinav Bindra will have to share his spot with Sunita Lamba who got us the Second Gold medal in the Beijing Olympics medal Tally in 2008.

The questions now that need to be asked are: Why was her achievement ignored thus? Why was her Gold medal not given any recognition, despite the fact that she had tried to contact Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi and Union Culture minister Ambika Soni to tell them about her participation.

Sunita has had to plead the government authorities to recognise her achievements.

Abhinav Bindra became the true Champion and the Golden Boy for India when he won the first ever individual Gold medal in the Beijing Olympics for the Air Rifle Shooting Event. This medal comes after a long drought of 108 years in the Indian Olympic History.

Abhinav Bindra hails from Zirakhpur, Punjab. He did his schooling from one of the affluent schools of India, DOON school in Dehradun and later from St Stephens in Chandigarh. He has definitely done them and the whole country proud with his achievement.

Abhinav worked hard and always believed in himself. He has been in the sport for ten years, and knows very well that the difference between winning and losing is very thin. He claims that luck also plays a major role and maybe luck was in his favor on that fateful day in Beijing.

Abhinav Bindra, apparently, has planned a future roadmap to prepare athletes. "I am working now on a structure which I can be directly involved with for the development of other shooters and athletes. I will actually try and groom people for the future. I am in the process of starting off with a shooting plan," he said.

Abhinav Bindra has been awarded a prize sum of over Rs 5 Crores and still more is pouring in from all quarters. He plans to utilize these funds towards the development of Olympic Sports in the Country. To further this aim, he also urged the country's Olympic chiefs to use the rare success at the Beijing Games as a stepping stone to further sporting glory. He reiterated that the time was ripe to ignite a passion for other sports in a country where cricket reigns supreme.

Did you know that India's annual federal sports budget of 280 million dollars is [i]less[/i] than "half" of the [b]724 million dollars[/b] that the eight franchisees paid for owning cricket teams in the Indian Premier League.

Did you also know that the Indian Shooting team was about to be pulled out of the Beijing Olympics due to lack of funds but made it only because of private sponsors who came in at the last minute?

Micheal Phelps became a true champion when he won 8 Gold medals in all 8 events, breaking all records, at the swimming pool at the Beijing Olympics beating the highest individual medal record of Mark Spitz.

Do you know how he came about to be a champ? According to the news reports, he learned to swim because his mother forced him to do so. She was afraid that he might drown at the seaside or the pool, if he did not know how to swim. Thus he took swimming lessons and it was only very much later that he took part in any competitions for swimming. Apparently, he was also bullied a lot in school as a kid and that too inspired him to do better and become a better person.

What is even more surprising is the fact that his teachers always doubted his capabilities. Micheal Phelps revealed in an interview that one of his teachers said that he would never be successful. This was one major factor that drove Micheal Phelps to prove his mettle to the teacher and to the world at large, that he could and was capable of doing better. Thus he worked hard at everything in life and tried to better himself in whatever he did.

Another astonishing fact about Micheal Phelps is that he suffered from "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder". He was always restless and couldn't sit still for long. This also affected his capability to stay focussed. According to Micheal Phelps, getting into the water helped him to focus and that helped him to grow out of it.

Micheal Phelps, 23 years old has no time for love. According to him, he doesn't have any girlfriend waiting back at home for him. But then, who has any time for Love and romance when you have bigger and better things planned for the future? Yes, he is now all charged up to do better at the 2012 London Olympics and will no doubt spend all his waking moments trying to become faster and faster. All the women out there, wait till he is 30. He has been linked by the media with the US swimmer Amanda Beard, English model Lily Donaldson and Stephanie Rice too.

Did you know that Micheal Phelps has two sisters named Whitney and Hillary? Whitney is also a good swimmer and was a member of the 1994 World Championship Team.

Micheal Phelps loves other sports too and his favorite among them is baseball, and his sports hero is the basketball player Micheal Jordan.

All in all Micheal Phelps has won 16 Olympic Medals. 6 Gold medals and 2 Bronze medals were from the 2004 Athens and the rest of the 8 Gold medals from the Beijing Olympics. He is now ranked 2nd as the Most number of Olympic Medals won by an individual. The first on the list is the Soviet Gymnast Larissa Latynina who won a total of 18 medals out of which 9 were Gold medals spanning three Olympic Games.